Hi, I am a first-year arch student who is making a presentation about how to ensure gender equality in design (the space that the experience for men and women are equal, or can be used comfortably for both genders). I am finding some strong evidence that shows gender equality in design (can be any building, project). I hope to have your suggestion, even just a little detail in a building that shows gender equality is OK too! I appreciate all your help.
Wood Guy
Nov 21, 21 4:33 pm
How about you start us off with some of your ideas and maybe we'll comment or suggest a few of our own. This isn't a place to crowd-source your homework.
b3tadine[sutures]
Nov 21, 21 5:58 pm
Equality, or Equity? If your answers can't elucidate the difference, or if you aren't inclusive in your definition of gender, might I suggest you not start with looking at "architecture", but delve into more theoretical texts on gender.
Non Sequitur
Nov 21, 21 7:29 pm
I love the “I have found many examples but I’d just like to know what others have first” ruse. Who ever is daft enough to think this will work is not going very far in academia.
curtkram
Nov 21, 21 10:07 pm
i'd start with the plumbing code
x-jla
Nov 21, 21 11:06 pm
oh for god sake. Be brave and different. You must know this is nonsense. Don’t waste your education massaging the egos of these fakes. Challenge the orthodoxy. Look to history, anthropology, psychology if really interested in gender. Besides toilets and urinals and maybe thermostats, architecture as little do with gender. Must we shoe horn everything into this nonsense narrative?
Wood Guy
Nov 22, 21 9:09 am
I always forget, do extreme libertarians like you think that women and men are fundamentally opposite with no overlap, or fundamentally the same in every regard? Because in either case, biology would like to have a word with you...
x-jla
Nov 22, 21 9:44 am
Biology would like to have a meeting with the 200 genders crowd and tell them that they are stupid.
b3tadine[sutures]
Nov 22, 21 9:52 am
Race is a construct. Gender is a construct.
x-jla
Nov 22, 21 10:15 am
Somewhat agree. Race is a reductionist construct. Gender is partly a cultural construct, and partly sexually influenced. Nature and nurture. Sex is a biological reality. The spectrum gender thing is litterally a reductionist construct similar to the racial one. It attempts to reduce gender and expressions and sexual preferences into a finite set of categories. The left isn’t necessary wrong, they just haven’t gone far enough with this identity thing. There are something like 7.5 billion identities not 200. we call this individuality.
mightyaa
Nov 22, 21 11:35 am
Low hanging fruit, since this is a college thing, would be to examine the differences in design between sororities and fraternities. From rooms and even durability there are differences even though functionally, these buildings and groups operate the same. It’d be a deep dive culturally and from an architecture perspective. Honestly, if done well, it could be published as fraternities look to shift culturally without any clear path forward; could envision this as a thesis subject. I know mine (ATO) is looking at possibly accepting women and also dealing with LGBT issues. Basically… if you can seriously dig into the subject and get past your own bias, you might be surprised at what you discover. And since you are in college, you are very close to the source and this new generation’s cultural as well as house tours to see current situations. Fraternities I know are looking how they can survive and thrive in a world considering their history. It also isn’t easy; national fraternities have leadership that crosses a huge swath of cultural and political that you’d see nationally. There’s also the issue of the land they currently own; it will limit design options. You might even conclude gender separation may not be a bad thing for a young adult out of their parental nest.
You’ll even discover other strange gender things; house moms. I’ve never seen a male house mom. Both sororities and fraternities have them and most live in the house. And I think they still do old school stuff; etiquette training, social grace, singing and choir, advice, and staff decisions (cleaning, cooks, suppliers, etc.). Since they span multiple years and talk to each other (have their own group and social club)… they’ll be an awesome resource for the behind the scenes of these organizations.
Donna Sink
Nov 22, 21 10:10 pm
mightyaa, just to share an anecdote: in my time ascan architect working on college Greek housing the sorority bathrooms were usually much grosser than the fraternity ones. I do like your idea, though!
x-jla
Nov 22, 21 11:57 am
if you look at the research on gender equality in Scandinavian countries, you will understand beyond the clumsy narratives and dogmas. What it’s shown is that when all things are made as equal as possible, sexual differences are not reduced, they are enhanced. This is because men and women have different biological preferences and interests. So why be a science denier and try to fight against biological realities? It would be more interesting to look at the differences and find ways to accommodate, than to pretend that the male baby chimps choose car toys and the female baby chimps choose dolls because of white patriarchy or some other dogma of the day. If your goal is truly to solve some accommodation issues, then do it. If it’s to satisfy the orthodoxy to make professor happy, then don’t waste your expensive education. Look deeper.
x-jla
Nov 22, 21 11:59 am
On average this is. So obviously there will be a big difference between public spaces where we have to design for the masses where averages make a difference vs small projects or whatever.
randomised
Nov 22, 21 2:16 pm
My boys play with dinosaurs, cars and dolls, sometimes with their nails painted, sometimes without...just because they feel like it and because they can.
x-jla
Nov 22, 21 4:14 pm
That’s a moot point. If we are talking about designing for the general public, then one needs to consider generalities. There is absolutely no dispute that sexual differences in preferences exist. I still don’t understand why some people think that this is a bad thing?
x-jla
Nov 22, 21 4:15 pm
It’s like saying that men are stronger than women and then you say my aunt can beat up my uncle.
randomised
Nov 23, 21 3:04 am
Was just sharing an anecdote :) All this talk about equality when more men are killed, more men kill themselves, more men are incarcerated and more men are homeless...still so much work to be done.
b3tadine[sutures]
Nov 23, 21 6:04 am
Wow. Why, and who is doing this to men? Could it possibly be that men by and large are killed by men, and women, by and large are killed by men?
This isn’t unique to humans. Males are more aggressive in most mammals
. Evolution.
x-jla
Nov 24, 21 10:52 am
A Genderless society will collapse under its own wimpy stupidity.
Donna Sink
Nov 22, 21 10:13 pm
Family bathrooms. ADA ramps. Automatic door openers. Potty parity.
mightyaa
Nov 23, 21 1:35 pm
Yes, I vaguely recall "potty parity" in the US Senate Building. When originally built, women were secretaries, not Senators or political elite, so there weren't any upscale facilities (bathrooms, locker rooms, etc.). You'll find similar in a lot of older historic structures particularly for those in positions of power or industries that essentially banned women. I did a lot of firestation remodels for instance because women fire fighters weren't a thing when those stations with gang toilets/showers were designed. I'd guess military had the same issue in dorms, training facilities, etc.
gibbost
Nov 23, 21 4:15 pm
I fully support gender equity at restrooms. That said, here in my City, potty parity has taken on a whole new level. The story goes that when they were developing the local plumbing code, the Plumbing inspector's wife and daughter were very upset that they had to always wait in long lines at large venues and restaurants. As such, for most assembly spaces our current code calls for triple (and sometimes quadruple) the number of water closets for women's restrooms over men.
mightyaa
Nov 23, 21 1:43 pm
You could even find gender bias in interior design with colors and material selections to this day. Even recently on 'love it or list it' (tv show) they were transforming a bachelor's house and remarking on the color scheme, furnishings, etc. that scream there wasn't a woman in the house. And going on to add a femanine softer touch and some color splash.
Miles Jaffe
Nov 23, 21 4:34 pm
Gender bias has become especially problematic with the profusion of word-salad of pronoun identifiers.
Hi, I am a first-year arch student who is making a presentation about how to ensure gender equality in design (the space that the experience for men and women are equal, or can be used comfortably for both genders). I am finding some strong evidence that shows gender equality in design (can be any building, project). I hope to have your suggestion, even just a little detail in a building that shows gender equality is OK too! I appreciate all your help.
How about you start us off with some of your ideas and maybe we'll comment or suggest a few of our own. This isn't a place to crowd-source your homework.
Equality, or Equity? If your answers can't elucidate the difference, or if you aren't inclusive in your definition of gender, might I suggest you not start with looking at "architecture", but delve into more theoretical texts on gender.
I love the “I have found many examples but I’d just like to know what others have first” ruse. Who ever is daft enough to think this will work is not going very far in academia.
i'd start with the plumbing code
oh for god sake. Be brave and different. You must know this is nonsense. Don’t waste your education massaging the egos of these fakes. Challenge the orthodoxy. Look to history, anthropology, psychology if really interested in gender. Besides toilets and urinals and maybe thermostats, architecture as little do with gender. Must we shoe horn everything into this nonsense narrative?
I always forget, do extreme libertarians like you think that women and men are fundamentally opposite with no overlap, or fundamentally the same in every regard? Because in either case, biology would like to have a word with you...
Biology would like to have a meeting with the 200 genders crowd and tell them that they are stupid.
Race is a construct. Gender is a construct.
Somewhat agree. Race is a reductionist construct. Gender is partly a cultural construct, and partly sexually influenced. Nature and nurture. Sex is a biological reality. The spectrum gender thing is litterally a reductionist construct similar to the racial one. It attempts to reduce gender and expressions and sexual preferences into a finite set of categories. The left isn’t necessary wrong, they just haven’t gone far enough with this identity thing. There are something like 7.5 billion identities not 200. we call this individuality.
Low hanging fruit, since this is a college thing, would be to examine the differences in design between sororities and fraternities. From rooms and even durability there are differences even though functionally, these buildings and groups operate the same. It’d be a deep dive culturally and from an architecture perspective. Honestly, if done well, it could be published as fraternities look to shift culturally without any clear path forward; could envision this as a thesis subject. I know mine (ATO) is looking at possibly accepting women and also dealing with LGBT issues. Basically… if you can seriously dig into the subject and get past your own bias, you might be surprised at what you discover. And since you are in college, you are very close to the source and this new generation’s cultural as well as house tours to see current situations. Fraternities I know are looking how they can survive and thrive in a world considering their history. It also isn’t easy; national fraternities have leadership that crosses a huge swath of cultural and political that you’d see nationally. There’s also the issue of the land they currently own; it will limit design options. You might even conclude gender separation may not be a bad thing for a young adult out of their parental nest.
You’ll even discover other strange gender things; house moms. I’ve never seen a male house mom. Both sororities and fraternities have them and most live in the house. And I think they still do old school stuff; etiquette training, social grace, singing and choir, advice, and staff decisions (cleaning, cooks, suppliers, etc.). Since they span multiple years and talk to each other (have their own group and social club)… they’ll be an awesome resource for the behind the scenes of these organizations.
mightyaa, just to share an anecdote: in my time ascan architect working on college Greek housing the sorority bathrooms were usually much grosser than the fraternity ones. I do like your idea, though!
if you look at the research on gender equality in Scandinavian countries, you will understand beyond the clumsy narratives and dogmas. What it’s shown is that when all things are made as equal as possible, sexual differences are not reduced, they are enhanced. This is because men and women have different biological preferences and interests. So why be a science denier and try to fight against biological realities? It would be more interesting to look at the differences and find ways to accommodate, than to pretend that the male baby chimps choose car toys and the female baby chimps choose dolls because of white patriarchy or some other dogma of the day. If your goal is truly to solve some accommodation issues, then do it. If it’s to satisfy the orthodoxy to make professor happy, then don’t waste your expensive education. Look deeper.
On average this is. So obviously there will be a big difference between public spaces where we have to design for the masses where averages make a difference vs small projects or whatever.
My boys play with dinosaurs, cars and dolls, sometimes with their nails painted, sometimes without...just because they feel like it and because they can.
That’s a moot point. If we are talking about designing for the general public, then one needs to consider generalities. There is absolutely no dispute that sexual differences in preferences exist. I still don’t understand why some people think that this is a bad thing?
It’s like saying that men are stronger than women and then you say my aunt can beat up my uncle.
Was just sharing an anecdote :) All this talk about equality when more men are killed, more men kill themselves, more men are incarcerated and more men are homeless...still so much work to be done.
Wow. Why, and who is doing this to men? Could it possibly be that men by and large are killed by men, and women, by and large are killed by men?
https://globalnews.ca/news/6536184/gender-based-violence-men-women/amp/
"...still so much work to be done."
This isn’t unique to humans. Males are more aggressive in most mammals
. Evolution.
A Genderless society will collapse under its own wimpy stupidity.
Family bathrooms. ADA ramps. Automatic door openers. Potty parity.
Yes, I vaguely recall "potty parity" in the US Senate Building. When originally built, women were secretaries, not Senators or political elite, so there weren't any upscale facilities (bathrooms, locker rooms, etc.). You'll find similar in a lot of older historic structures particularly for those in positions of power or industries that essentially banned women. I did a lot of firestation remodels for instance because women fire fighters weren't a thing when those stations with gang toilets/showers were designed. I'd guess military had the same issue in dorms, training facilities, etc.
I fully support gender equity at restrooms. That said, here in my City, potty parity has taken on a whole new level. The story goes that when they were developing the local plumbing code, the Plumbing inspector's wife and daughter were very upset that they had to always wait in long lines at large venues and restaurants. As such, for most assembly spaces our current code calls for triple (and sometimes quadruple) the number of water closets for women's restrooms over men.
You could even find gender bias in interior design with colors and material selections to this day. Even recently on 'love it or list it' (tv show) they were transforming a bachelor's house and remarking on the color scheme, furnishings, etc. that scream there wasn't a woman in the house. And going on to add a femanine softer touch and some color splash.
Gender bias has become especially problematic with the profusion of word-salad of pronoun identifiers.